It turns out that we may not have to fear hearing “Dude, you’re getting a Cloud Computer®!” in the future after all.

Bill Poser noted on Language Log that the US Patent and Trademark Office has refused Dell’s application to register the term cloud computing as a trademark. In a office action report, the USPTO said:

“Registration is refused because the applied-for mark merely describes a feature and characteristic of applicant’s services. … As shown in the attached Internet and LEXISNEXIS® evidence, CLOUD COMPUTING is a descriptive term of art in the relevant industry.”